Silent Sentinel
by AdmirableAckbar
Summary: As a young Jedi Knight, Mace Windu had a premonition of a boy who held the key to the future of the galaxy. Seeking him out, Windu decided to recreate a lost branch of the Jedi Order. OC as central character.
1. Chapter 1

_Coruscant, 55 BBY_

At the age of 17, Mace Windu was quite early in becoming a Jedi Knight. Normally the rank was conferred on those with greater age and experience, but Windu was exceptional. He was strong, both in combat and in the force.

Windu had blasted through the five trials of knighthood, passing each stage handily and, although challenged, Windu did not have much trouble with any of the tests. His master, T'Raa Saa was very proud. His other teacher, though not formal master, Yoda, was quite impressed with Windu's progress.

"Strong, you are," he had intoned after Windu's completion of the tests, "but experience you have yet to gain."

Windu was powerful in body and spirit. Stronger than all others his age, Windu had distinguished himself with his deep connection with the Force. His lightsaber combat skills were unprecedented for his age. By surrendering himself to the Force, Windu could gain great strength and ability. The only drawback of doing so was treading close to the dark side, something his master had been quick to note and warn Windu of. Amazingly, however, Windu could resist the pull of the dark side. He utilized it through the machinations of the Force, but did not surrender to it and could always pull himself back. He seemed imperturbable to the dark side.

His connection with the Force granted Windu another unique skill: the power to see shatterpoints. Shatterpoints are weaknesses, akin to fault lines, that Windu could see and influence, albeit with concentration and effort. With the Force, he could see a crack, something that would break with pressure, all he had to do was pour the Force into that crack for it to shatter. Shatterpoints occurred, however, not only in physical objects, but also in dynamic situations, allowing Windu to have an amazing advantage in lightsaber combat.

Standing outside the door to the Hall of Knighthood, Windu was poised to complete the final step before becoming a fully-fledged knight of the Jedi Order: having the padawan braid removed. Normally calm, Windu paced back and forth nervously. He was sweating lightly and only had to enter the room before being pronounced a knight. Opening himself to the Force, Windu calmed himself, said a silent thanks to his teachers and master for everything they had given him, and entered the room.

The meditations from the previous night had helped. He felt calm. Walking into the center of the dark room, he stiffened in minor surprise when lightsabers flared up around him. They were the masters of the Jedi High Council.

"Padawan Windu," squeaked Yoda's voice, "proud of your accomplishments, you should be. Grant the title of Knight, the Jedi Order does not easily do. Proven yourself, you have." The lightsabers were held ceremonially began slowly circling him, moved by the Force of the masters.

"Kneel." He did so, expecting what was to happen next. Yoda came forward, "a benefit to your master and the order, you have been." He severed the padawan braid. The Force shivered to Windu; something dear had been lost to him. The face of T'Raa Shaa came to his mind and slowly faded away. The connection between them had been cut days earlier, but Windu still felt the pain at being separated from his master.

"Rise, Knight Windu." Windu did so and faced the council of masters for the first time as a knight of the order.

"Thank you, masters," Windu said, and left the room.

A week later, Windu walked rapidly to the quarters of Yoda. He hurried, not because of any actual rush, but out of purpose; any time stalling was time wasted. Windu passed many familiar faces as he made his way through the temple, up to the quarters reserved for the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

Arriving, Windu walked back and forth anxiously for several minutes. He was still unsure of his decision, but did not turn back. He knocked on Yoda's door and entered.

The Jedi were a strictly monastic order, at least when it came to architectural design. Yoda's quarters were not distinctive from those Windu had lived in as a padawan, or like those he had since moved to as he no longer lived with his master. The room was specifically reserved for the Grand Master because of its location, not its design. The rooms were small and bare of any lavish furnishings, or comfortable furnishings for that matter! The only slight difference was an additional small room, which Yoda had adapted as a meditation chamber.

Entering the meditation room, Windu sat on one of the small cushions that scattered the floor. Yoda was already seated and apparently meditating. Windu joined him and opened himself to the Force, letting it wash over him and consume him. Instantly his perceptions changed. He could feel the entire Jedi Temple, feel the occupants moving about, the younglings practicing lightsaber exercises, and the padawans sparring. Extending his senses further, Windu could feel the movement of Coruscant as a whole. This was impressive for a recently promoted knight, but it was nothing to Yoda's cultivated meditative state, wherein he could seemingly sense the entire galaxy.

"Knight Windu, what bothers you, hmm?" Yoda asked from his seat on the cushions.

"Master, I have requested a long-term mission from the council in order to travel and gain experience away from the temple. I wish to seek out force-sensitive beings around the galaxy and train them."

"Know this, I do. Granted, your request will be. Come here, why have you?" Yoda responded, his grammar as mismatched as ever.

"I have another reason for wanting to seek out force-sensitive beings. During the full night of meditation prior to being knighted, I saw a premonition through the force," Windu recalled, still stunned by its power and depth. "I wish to act on this premonition. I know the future is always in motion, always changing due to our actions, but I feel I cannot responsible ignore this vision."

"Right you are - hard to see, the future is. A shatterpoint, this premonition was?"

"Yes, master, a shatterpoint of tremendous breadth and force. Its cracks held sway over the whole galaxy."

Yoda leaned back, pensively considering the impassioned plea of action. He was unwilling to act on unclear premonitions, the future was usually too nebulous to act on. Usually. Windu was different. His connection with the Force was strong. His shatterpoints always implied fragility and something almost always broke as a result.

Yoda had been there when Windu had first sensed shatterpoints, taught him what they meant and how to influence them, even though Yoda himself had no such ability. Windu had shattered one of the fountains in the Hall of a Thousand Fountains after seeing a strange mark of the Force that no one else, not even other masters, could perceive. Windu had lightly placed his hand on the fountain, channeled the Force to ascertain what the sign was, and the fountain had utterly shattered.

Pulling himself from his memories, Yoda straightened again, "What did it show you?"

"I saw a young boy, master. Human, I think. He was a force sensitive. That wasn't why I requested the mission, though. He was older than most of the entries to the temple are, four or five years old, but more than that, the shatterpoint that surrounded him was massive. It encompassed not only him, but the whole galaxy and," Windu paused, "I felt the presence of the Dark Side. It was not within the boy, but around him, around everything. It clouded the vision and my senses. Stranger still, master, I could not sense the boy. He was a void in the Force."

"A void, you say?" Yoda questioned.

"Yes, master, I could see him, but could not perceive him through the Force."

Windu waited for a response from Yoda, but none came. "Master, I truly believe that some great evil will befall the Order should I not find him."

"Inform the Council of this, you have not." Yoda stated, but it contained a pointed question.

"I'm not certain, master, but I felt this information would appear as too unbelievable for them to act on or even consider as rational. As you said yourself, master, the future is hard to see, and the vision and presence of the dark side are ridiculous! The Sith haven't been seen for over a millennia!"

"Saw this boy and the circumstances clearly, you did?"

"Yes master, I saw more clearly than I have ever seen anything else with a shatterpoint."

Yoda was well aware of the knight's ability, having trained him to use it extensively. Shatterpoints were rarely wrong and were always deadly.

The shades in the meditation chamber closed, darkening the room. Yoda's back straightened and his breathing evened out again; he had begun meditating again.

Windu sighed, he knew himself that the request was odd, he'd never heard of anything remotely similar happening. Long-term missions were only granted to the most experienced of the jedi as they often required vast skill sets, a long time period spent away from the temple, and experience. A long-term mission with an indeterminate purpose to find someone who might not even exist over a reason that might merely have been a bad dream was hardly likely to be granted. Even so, Windu felt it was his duty to pursue his vision.

Half an hour passed, then an hour. Yoda never moved from his position. Windu, too, let himself drift peacefully into the Force.

Sometime later, Yoda opened his eyes slowly, taking in the room and the meditating Windu. He stood up and, taking advantage of the situation, poked Windu hard in the chest with his walking stick. Windu fell back, stunned, and Yoda erupted into laughter.

As Windu leaned forward, Yoda apologized and brought the conversation back to the original topic: "granted, your request is. Seek out this shatterpoint, you must. Deep cover, this is not. Report regularly to me on your progress, you shall. Go, and may the Force be with you."

Windu stood up, bowed deeply to Yoda, and left the room straightaway. He walked with confident, long strides back to his quarters, passing many jedi he would likely never see again, or would not do so for a long time.

Entering his quarters, which were sparsely filled with Windu's personal items, he filled everything he needed into a box and left the Jedi Temple. He would not reside in the Temple again for over twenty years.

_Corellia, 48 BBY_

_7 Years Later_

Corellia was the largest planet of the so-called five brothers, the planets that orbited the star Corell. All planets housed chiefly human life, with a few distinct species and life forms from other ends of the galaxy. The star system was relatively independent in the republic. Despite being an active member in the intergalactic democracy, Corellia maintained its own military and economic independence.

The planet itself was a heavily producing manufacturing center. Large spaceship-building structures existed in orbit around the planet, having been cleared from the planet's surface to create more room for additional manufacturing and agriculture. Corellia richly profited from their economic position and enjoyed a relative monopoly on the production of large spacecraft. Few other systems outside of the Trade Federation could even build such craft, much less at the high quality that the Corellians did. The populace as a whole was turned to space flight and some of the best flyers in the galaxy were Corellian.

Traveling to Corellia had been a whim for Mace. It was not too far out of range, nor was it blatantly important. In the past eight years Mace had travelled widely, visiting far corners of the galaxy in search of the youngling in his vision. In his travels, Mace encountered many force-sensitive children and sent them to the temple for training, but none had been the one from his vision.

His results had pleased the Council. He had become stronger with experience than many of the masters could have foretold. His foresight and connection with the force had managed to place the knight in many tense and difficult situations, yet he had always handled the situations with deft skill, sometimes solving problems through clever thinking and negotiations, other times through force. Even though young, Mace had been tapped by the Council for early consideration as a master and potential seat on the Council itself, a great honor. He was years away from such a position, but he had all the necessary potential.

Mace had ventured to Corellia for no other reason than a slight push of the Force. Standing in the capital city of Kor Vella, a popular destination for tourists, he wondered why he had come. He felt no pull of the Force or notable presences on the planet at all.

No one recognized the knight. He cloaked his presence as best he could, still aware of the threat of the dark side from his premonition, a threat many other masters would have scoffed at. The galaxy was at peace as the jedi stood watch; Mace was not at peace.

Wandering mindlessly, Mace strolled along the curved, multi-tiered streets. Kor Vella was a beautiful and architecturally complex place, with streets that turned sideways, looped, and even occasionally went entirely upside down. The entire system held in place by fine-tuned gravity controls, which kept the civilians' feet firmly plastered to the ground. Glittering spires rose high towards the sky, demonstrating the Corellians' skill in construction of complex designs.

He was walking along a side street on one of the lower levels of the city when he saw something that made him pause: a crack in a wall. Had this been a lesser planet or city, Mace would have thought nothing of it, Mos Eisley, for instance, was filled with nothing but cracked walls, but this was the sparkling city of Kor Vella, there were no cracked walls here.

Walking up to the wall, Mace carefully laid his hand against the cool metal – the wall was smooth. That left only one option: a shatterpoint.

Why, Mace wondered, was there a large crack in a seemingly unimportant wall?

But the crack didn't stop at the wall, it wrapped around it, running down the street and eventually out of view. Mace had never seen such a shatterpoint.

Careful not to break the connection and fingering his lightsaber under his jedi cloak, Mace followed the crack. It turned left, then right, then left again, down a series of streets until Mace reached a deserted square, quite off the beaten path, but Mace had the distinct impression it was under the heart of the city.

There was nothing there. Nobody was standing around the surprisingly open space and, save a small power generator and the gravitational dampeners, _nothing _except the jedi was in the square.

"Who're you?" A small voice asked from right next to the jedi.

Mace jumped, shocked that someone had managed to get so close to him without his realizing. Looking down, there was a small boy, four or five years old, with light brown hair, fair skin, and hazel eyes, staring curiously down at a lightsaber, taken from Mace's belt.

Mace gasped, stunned that a child could pickpocket him so easily. He reacted quickly however and opened himself to the Force, wrenching the lightsaber from the boy's hands and reattaching it to his belt.

The boy hardly seemed to notice the loss of the blade. He looked up at the Koruun knight and stated simply: "You're a jedi."

Mace nodded slowly, and then he saw it: all the shatterpoints led to the boy. That small child stood on top of the weakest point in the galaxy. It was the boy from his premonition, the one that would shape the galaxy.

"My name is Mace Windu," Mace said cautiously.

"I'm Jace," said the boy, "Jace Solo."

"Where are your parents?" Mace asked.

"Dunno, I've never really had parents."

_He's an orphan_, Mace thought, unsurprised. The orphan population on Corellia was large, though the government funded a well-equipped orphanage to watch over them and provided good social services.

"Can you come with me, Jace?" Mace asked.

Jace nodded slowly, trusting the jedi. Mace turned and strolled out of the square, the boy following along in his footsteps.

Over the next hour, Mace instructed the boy to bring him to the orphanage, where Mace explained the reason for his presence to the orphanage master. He explained his long-term mission from the Order, though left out the details of the shatterpoint, allowing the man to believe that Jace was merely a force-sensitive who had missed detection earlier.

Windu was allowed to part the system peacefully and easily with the boy in tow.

And just like that, the shatterpoint surrounding him vanished.

_Hyperspace_

Now aboard Windu's starship, Jace had relaxed somewhat. The boy had shown no strong emotions during any part of the day's events. Were it not for the boy's attentiveness and surprising grasp of the situation when asked, Windu would have thought the boy daft.

Windu had explained to the child the role of the jedi in the universe, what they did, how they did it, and their connection to the Force. It would take years of training and meditation for Jace to comprehend many of these things, but Windu did his best to introduce the boy to the topics.

As Yoda himself was fond of, Windu had tried to explain the Force as the energy field that surrounded and flowed through all living beings, binding them and the universe together. It permeated all life and all non-living things, and could be used by force-sensitive beings to amazing feats. Windu demonstrated some of the lesser abilities, such as telekinesis to the boy, lifting his own jedi cloak into the air and sending it spinning around in circles, before dropping it into a heap on the floor. He then lifted the cloak with the Force, neatly folded it, and placed in onto the table.

Throughout the demonstration, the boy had watched keenly and calculatingly, seeming to understand Windu's every motion.

"Can everyone do that?" Jace asked.

"Yes, everyone who can sense the Force is potentially capable of doing this with training." Mace explained. "The Force can extend to do many other things than this, however. Compared to some other abilities and directions, telekinesis is a relatively common skill. The Force is only limited by the creativity of the organism who uses it. It has nearly infinite applications that jedi are still learning and discovering. Skills die out, too, from lack of use or inability of jedi to use them."

"So, not everyone can use every Force ability?" Jace questioned.

"No," Windu replied.

"How do you know which powers you can use?"

"Well," Windu responded, trying to come up with a reasonable answer for the child, "it mainly depends on the power of the organism and the depth of their connection to the Force."

"How can you tell how strong someone is in the Force?"

"Mainly through midi-chlorians." Windu said, seeing the confused look on the boy's face, Windu continued, "midi-chlorians are tiny…things," he said, lacking a better description, "that inhabit the cells in your body. Different people have more midi-chlorians than others. The higher the midi-chlorian count, the more powerful you'll be in the Force. This is a rough idea, though. Most organisms have at least 3,000 midi-chlorians per cell. Jedi usually have 7,000 or more. The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, Yoda, has around 18,000, for instance."

"How many do you have?" Jace asked.

"I've never checked. I don't believe much in that theory," Windu explained, "I am powerful in the Force, however, so if it were true I would likely have 16-17,000 midi-chlorians per cell."

The boy was frowning light, so Windu added further, "Midi-chlorians aren't everything. The ability and concentration of the individual are important, too. As I said, the Force is merely an energy field. Normal beings can't sense it, but Force sensitive beings can. Midi-chlorians suggest a stronger presence or ability in the Force, but opening oneself fully to the Force and concentrating on that field will do as much good as anything else."

The boy nodded, seemingly understanding what Windu was explaining. In truth, Jace wouldn't have to understand such complex ideas for a while, even if he was under the constant training present in the Temple. Even so, Windu felt it important to introduce him to the ideology. He felt, for some reason, that the boy wouldn't belong at the temple.

Deciding to err on the side of caution, Windu took a small blood sample from Jace and ran it through the computer, testing for infections or other diseases he might have acquired as an orphan. In addition, as an afterthought, Windu also tested Jace's midi-chlorian count.

The test ran for several hours and Windu, in the interim, stayed with Jace.

"I…didn't like home." Jace explained.

"Home?" Windu asked, thinking Jace's parent's had died, rather than Jace having run away.

"Yeah, Corellia. I didn't like the other kids, they…bullied me." He stopped, looked shyly up at the jedi knight, then looked away. "They don't do it anymore, I kept breaking things, but they didn't like me."

"You…broke things?" Mace frowned, thinking that this sounded like a beginning to the dark side of his premonitions. Early, unintentional Force usage sometimes had adverse side-effects, but younglings rarely described it as 'breaking things,' as if it occurred with frequency and intent. That implied desire to break or harm things, something that was dangerous to feel for one so young.

"Sort of," Jace said, looking abashed. Seeing the expression on Windu's face, he quickly added "not on purpose! I just saw a weakness and kind of pushed." Jace hesitated, "anything I did that to would shatter."

Now Windu understood the significance of this: the boy could see shatterpoints. Never before had he encountered another capable of the skill. Shatterpoints are extremely dangerous, as he had demonstrated when he had shattered a human on the world of Haruun Kal during his years as a padawan. Amazingly, however, he had been able to rebuild the shattered being, showing that their effects were not irreversible, merely difficult to correct.

However, even after years of training and deep meditation, Windu could see shatterpoints only occasionally. The way Jace described his experiences, he could see them everywhere, almost at will.

"Break something," Windu commanded, wanting to see the boy's skill.

"What!? Why?"

Jace was shocked. This was something that embarrassed him, not something he wanted to show off. Even so, Jace could see a couple weak points just looking around the room and searching for them.

"Just do as I say," Windu ordered.

Looking around, Jace saw that the table had a weak point in the direct center. Pressing his hand on the surface, Jace relaxed his mind, and suddenly shoved his hand down.

A bang rang out. There was a large crack that was forming, splitting the table into many smaller chunks. The cracks widened sharply and the whole thing collapsed.

"Put it back!"

Unthinkingly, Jace opened his mind again, seeing the table as it had been when whole. Standing firmly rooted, the legs evenly supporting the weight, and the intricate design on the surface. Imagining each of the broken pieces, Jace closed his eyes and mentally refitted each shattered chunk to fit as the image of the unbroken table.

After concentrating on this for a few minutes, Jace felt nothing and gave up. When he opened his eyes, the table stood before him complete and unbroken, as if nothing had ever happened to it in the first place.

"Good," Windu said, and Jace tottered over and collapsed on a chair, utterly wiped out from using the Force so much.

It was at that moment that Windu knew the boy would never have a place at the Jedi Temple. No one had that control and ability at the age of five. No one had that self-control, power, or concentration. Placing him at the temple would waste his abilities and training. Worse, he would likely be ostracized for his skill.

There had been a shatterpoint on the table, of that Windu was certain, but he could not sense it. It was not visible to him. The boy had used so little power and had only called on the Force slightly, that Windu would have missed the action had he not been watching carefully. Even when accessing the Force, Jace was a void.

Shattering the table was one thing, but putting it back together should have been impossible for the boy. Windu himself had meditated throughout the night to rebuild the man on Haruun Kal and had opened himself entirely to the Force. Jace had done it quickly, quietly, and though he had called much more strongly on the Force, it was only a minor tremor compared to what it should have been. Jace was a dampener on the Force.

Jace had fallen asleep. Gently lifting him with the Force, Windu placed him on a bed in one of the rooms, levitated a blanket over him, and left.

Windu went back to the computer, which had finished sequencing Jace's blood. There was a minor infection called the Corellian Blight, but many individuals had it on Corellia and it could be cured with a brief schedule of antibiotics.

Windu frowned, however, when he saw the midi-chlorian count. The computer showed an extremely low number of midi-chlorians per cell, fewer than 500. Now Windu understood why he couldn't sense the boy. It was a wonder that Jace could even be living. Normal organisms who couldn't even sense the Force had around 3,000. Any less and, it was theorized, a being would cease to exist in the fabric of the universe. Obviously, this wasn't the case. However, with a count so low Jace should have been seriously malformed or otherwise had anatomical defects, but he didn't. He was healthy and, it seemed, very powerful in the Force.

He left the room, went to his own personal chambers, and sat in meditation. Opening himself to the Force, Windu tried to see further, to look into the future and see events surrounding Jace, but he couldn't. The dark side impaired his vision and clouded the future. This puzzled Windu. Such a dark force shouldn't exist in the galaxy. Only the sith held that kind of power over the Force, and Windu was not ready to admit their return. Windu was certain, though, that a darkness was coming. He could feel a storm brewing through the Force. Tremors were present where none should have been. The galaxy was stirring in a manner that unsettled the jedi knight.

Reaching out, Windu tried again to feel the presence of Jace. This time he succeeded. Dim though it was, he could sense the energy of the boy and feel his state.

That settled it for Windu. He entered the ship's cockpit and dropped out of hyperspace. The ship slowed down considerably, leaving them in dead space; there were no planets nearby. There were a few close star systems, but Windu was not intending to reach them. He attempted to establish a communication line with the Jedi Temple. He had to speak with Master Yoda.

_Coruscant, Jedi Temple_

Jedi Master Yoda rarely left the Jedi Temple anymore. He was growing older and preferred to focus on meditation and training of new younglings and padawans than completing missions. This was fair enough for the master, he was nearly 900 years old and deserved rest. Yoda was strong with the Force. He was considered to be the strongest user amongst all of the Jedi. However, he was even more knowledgeable on its nature. His knowledge of Force techniques and philosophy was likely greater than anyone else in the galaxy. And even though he was nearing 900, his lightsaber skills were still very impressive. Weak was not a word that fitted the small master.

Though he rarely left the temple, not many jedi were surprised when Yoda left suddenly for a mission to Tython. Tython was the old home and origin of the Jedi Order. It was not unusual for knights of masters to take a sabbatical there and immerse themselves in the Force. At least, that's why they thought Yoda left.

The true reason for Yoda's departure to Tython was a call from Jedi Knight Windu. Windu had not returned to the temple since he had left on a mission to seek out force-sensitive children years ago. He kept in regular contact with the temple, but only regular. Windu did not initiate communication at any point outside of those scheduled.

Windu had attempted to establish a line of communication with the temple and startled a young padawan assigned to monitoring the lines. Windu had asked to speak with Yoda, stating that it was an urgent request. The padawan had rushed to the Grandmaster's chambers, awakened the wizened master, and transferred the communication line. Windu and Yoda had both sworn the padawan to secrecy over the call, which was very unusual, before the padawan left.

The official record logs of the temple showed a call had been placed, received, and delivered to Yoda, but that the call had only lasted a couple minutes. An error had occurred in the computer's software, causing all information about any calls received or issued during that night to be deleted. This included who placed the call, who received it, the location of the caller, any recording of the call, and duration. Jedi Knight Saesee Tiin, an expert in technology, had examined the computer system for any bug or error that had caused the deletion. None was found.

The temple master reviewed the security tapes from the night and found nothing amiss. It was determined that the deletion had happened due to an error, but the cause or nature of the error was never identified. The computer system was swept for any malware or hacking attempt. Finding none, Knight Tiin restarted the system, which operated from then on without fault. The padawans on duty were lightly reprimanded and questioned, but none had noticed anything or done anything. There were no more problems with the system. The log of calls from that night, however, was never recovered.

In all of the events that had occurred following the deletion, the padawan who had delivered Windu's call to Yoda had forgotten about the exchange. He was far more worried about potential dereliction of duties that he had committed. He was not reassigned to monitor calls again.

Yoda was informed of the error in the system, but seemed unworried. He had inquired whether anything valuable was lost or needed further action and was told that few calls had been placed that night. Further investigation was halted and nothing seemed to have been lost.

Yoda left the next day for Tython. He went alone.

What could not have been known to any in the temple was that Yoda himself had altered the records. The call had not lasted for a couple minutes; it had lasted longs hours through the night. The content of that transmission and dialogue between the two jedi never became known to anyone else in full. As a result of that conversation, Yoda had broken into the temple records, deleted them, and made it seem like a technical failure. He covered his tracks, incapacitating the padawans silently and harmlessly, he had disabled the security cameras, later looping them and making it seem as if no alteration had ever occurred. Further, he had left for Tython at the request of Windu, not on a Force sabbatical, though he did intend to spend time there meditating.

No one ever uncovered the deceit.

_Tython_

Jace blinked slowly, his eyes fluttering as he struggled to sit up. His body felt weak and ached. He was still on the spaceship, but the craft had landed on some planet. He got up and exited out onto the planet's surface.

Jace had walked out onto a platform outside of an old, dilapidated temple. Nature had done her work to reclaim the temple. It was falling apart. Trees were growing over certain sections of it. Moss had crept up the sides and was slowly causing the building to fall apart. It wasn't a large temple, but it wasn't small either. More concerning to Jace was the presence of another starship on the platform. This one was much smaller and would only have held one person.

Turning, Jace entered the temple to look for Windu.

It didn't take him long. Windu was seated in the main hall, beside him sat a small, green being. Both were meditating. Not wanting to disturb either of them, Jace walked up quietly and sat down, also meditating.

Jace tried to meditate, at least. Still young and untrained, he did not have the patience or acumen to sit still for so long. "Master Windu?" He said, turning to the dark-skinned knight.

Yoda's eyes snapped open in surprise, he had not felt the approach of the youngling, and chuckled lightly. Windu had warned him of the boy's lack of presence in the Force, but Yoda had not expected it to be so truly weak. Windu was not one to exaggerate, but Yoda had assumed that to be the case. This was an extreme situation.

Windu reacted much more naturally. Already used to Jace's presence in the Force, Windu had felt the boy wake up and leave in search of the jedi.

"Hello, Jace," Windu said. "This is Master Yoda, another jedi. He is the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order."

Jace's eyes widened and he quickly bowed, unsure of his place besides such a legendary figure.

Yoda chuckled again, amused at the boy's response. "Hello there, young one," Yoda said. Turning to Windu, he said "right about him, you were."

"What?" Jace asked. "What was right about me?"

Ignoring him, Windu turned to Yoda: "So you agree with me? I stand by my original analysis. He is the perfect sentinel."

"A perfect sentinel, he would be. But old, he is. Touch the dark side, he might. Hmm?"

"I don't believe so, master. He is patient, calm, and already in touch with the Force. I do not believe his age to be too great; he is still quite young." Windu replied calmly to Yoda's question.

Both jedi were ignoring Jace, who had been trying to gain their attention. He had given up and was now listening to the exchange.

Yoda sat in silence for a minute with his eyes closed. He seemed to be meditating again. Looking suddenly at Jace and then at Windu, he said "Train him as a jedi yourself, you still wish to?"

Mace nodded.

"I'm going to be a jedi!" Jace blurted.

Yoda chuckled again: "A jedi, you will be."


	2. Chapter 2

_Coruscant, 32 BBY_

_16 years later_

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi stood in front of the Jedi High Council. They had just returned from Naboo with the queen following a dramatic escape from a blockade of the Trade Federation.

"It was a sith lord." Qui-Gon stated, aware of how incredible this seemed.

"Impossible!" Ki-Adi Mundi replied, "The sith have been extinct for over a millennia." However, even as he was saying this, Windu and Yoda glanced at each other. Windu recalled back to his premonitions of the dark side. Premonitions that none but Yoda was aware of.

The council sat in silence for a minute, before Windu spoke up: "I agree with Master Mundi, however, we are not omnipresent. There is the possibility that this was a sith lord. We must prepare for such a situation."

"Hard to see, the future it," Yoda agreed.

"We will use all of our resources to investigate your attacker," Windu continued. "We will find out who he is."

Qui-Gon had finished his explanation of the events that had occurred, but hesitated before leaving.

"Master Qui-Gon, something else you have to say?" Yoda asked.

"Yes, Master. I've encountered a vergence in the Force." Qui-Gon responded cautiously.

"A vergence? Located around a person?" Windu inquired.

"A boy," Qui-Gon nodded, "he has the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have ever seen in a life-form. It's possible he was conceived by midi-chlorians."

Windu, guessing where Qui-Gon was going, cut him off: "You refer to the prophecy foretelling of one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?"

"I don't presume-" Qui-Gon was cut off.

"But you do!" Yoda insisted. "Revealed, your opinion is!"

"All I ask is that the boy be trained in the jedi ways." Qui-Gon responded gracefully.

"Hmmm, trained as a jedi, you wish of him." Yoda stated.

"Finding him was the will of the Force, I have no doubt of that."

"The council will take your opinion and request into account – send the boy before us." Windu said in resignation, accepting Qui-Gon's opinion and request

"Thank you, Masters," Qui-Gon said, and left.

"It is as I have foreseen, Master." Windu stated. "Darkness is returning. I have no doubt that it was a Sith Lord whom Qui-Gon engaged."

"Know this for sure, you do not." Yoda replied.

Windu lowered his head, Yoda was right, he didn't know for sure. "Even so, Master, I have felt the return of the dark side."

"Tied to your vision, you should not be. Always in motion, the future is." Yoda cautioned.

Windu nodded. Yoda was right, he had to act rationally and strategically.

The council had rejected Anakin from training as a jedi. He was too old. Not only was he old, but he had emotional ties to others. He had not yet learned to release his emotions and act calmly. This was expected of nine-year-olds, but for a jedi it was outrageous. Jedi are always susceptible to emotion, the code doesn't prohibit feelings, only that jedi must act calmly and rationally, which is difficult when emotionally compromised. Opening oneself to the Force would bring peace and clarity to any situation. Anakin did not have the mental or emotional capacity to do this yet. That is why the council rejected him.

Windu decided to follow his own reasoning and opened himself to the Force. Meditating peacefully, it did not take long for him to come to a conclusion. Opening his eyes, he stood up, letting go of the Force and focusing on the present moment.

"Reached a decision, you have?" Yoda questioned.

Windu nodded, smiling a little, he said "I'm going to contact Jace."

_Chommell Minor_

Jace Solo was waiting in a cantina. He knew some of the people in the bar well enough, having worked with them occasionally. Jace was, officially, a bounty hunter – a not-very-good bounty hunter.

Even while relaxing, Jace still wore his helmet. It wasn't much of a helmet, it was only lightly padded and would buckle under meager blaster fire. It was also the only armor Jace wore. Its true purpose was to act as a mask. He did not want himself being identified by anyone on this planet, or any other, for that matter. The helmet looked like it had been taken from Mandalorian armor, Jace been approached before by angry Mandalorians wanting to know from whom he had taken the helmet, but he had altered the design after that encounter to make the resemblance smaller. Besides the helmet, he wore a dark jacket with protective strips sewn into it, a tan shirt, loose fitting black pants, and combat boots. Around his waist were two belts, one had an attached blaster holster than ran down his thigh. On his lower back was a small pouch that had been looped through the belt.

No one in the bar knew it, but Jace was the most dangerous man on Chommell Minor by far.

Many could have mistaken Jace for an average traveler who had come to drown his sorrows or just relax, but Jace was waiting for his payoff. He had been hired on this planet by a disgusting slug of a creature. Jace had no clue where the creature had come from, he had never encountered his type in the galaxy before. The man resembled the Hutts of Tattooine, but was somehow uglier. He was also the one who had hired Jace to do a hit on a high-level politician on Chommell Minor: Janus Greetjatus.

Sliding his way into the cantina on a trail of oozing slime was Jace's employer. The transaction went quickly as the planetary news system had already confirmed the hit. Greetjatus had been a senior-level politician, but was still relatively unknown to the general populace, who were generally uncaring about politics. Why the slug-man wanted him dead, Jace had no idea, but he killed Greetjatus anyways.

The hit had been an easy one. To avoid being identified by planetary security, Jace had silently pushed the man off the roof of a building during a moment of lax security. He had fallen to his death. Investigators had been quick to determine the cause of death as an accident – winds blew fiercely on Chommell Minor and Greetjatus was known to like taking walks on the roof.

The slug-man would never know Jace's identity, but he didn't care; Jace knew the identity of the slug-man and would watch him from then on.

What nobody else knew was that Jace Solo was a Jedi Sentinel, a lesser known guardian of the galaxy. Jace was alone as a Jedi Sentinel, there were no more left. Jedi divided themselves into three categories of operations and philosophy: guardians, counselors, and sentinels. Guardians were active members of the Order. They were the most known of the jedi, the most powerful warriors of the Order. Counselors were philosophers of the Force. They preferred to act with the Force, rather than with lightsabers, and frequently avoided combat. Sentinels acted in relative secrecy. They remained undercover in the galaxy and actively sought out the dark side in an attempt to eliminate it.

With the destruction of the sith over a millennia ago, the Order had thought the sentinel branch to be unhealthy. It was thought to encourage aggression and could end up pushing jedi close to the dark side. Fewer and fewer padawans decided to become jedi sentinels and the branch eventually died off. It had remained inactive until 16 years earlier, when Mace Windu had begun training Jace. The reactivation of sentinels was kept a secret from all except Yoda, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Oppo Rancisis, all dedicated and wise members of the Jedi High Council.

All records of Jace's existence were deleted. There was no connection between him and the Jedi Order. It was not recorded that Windu had ever taken on an apprentice before he had accepted Depa Bilaba as his padawan years after training Jace. According to official records, he had continued his long-term mission quite successfully, sending many powerful force-sensitive children to the temple. Alongside that, records show that Windu had completed many specialty missions at the request of the Jedi High Council or arbitrarily discovered tense situations, all of which he had deftly handled.

In reality, Windu had focused almost exclusively on training Jace and leading him on missions for the Order. He had led the boy through many hard years of training, pushing him to extreme limits and letting him test his mettle through specially requested missions from the council. Windu had also sent the boy, in secret, to receive training from all of the jedi who knew of his existence. Windu had felt it better that Jace receive a wide range of training from the top masters of the order. All of them had pushed Jace hard, creating one of the most prodigiously talented jedi in the Order.

Mace had returned to the Jedi Temple several years earlier than Jace's encounter on Chommell Minor. He had immediately been welcomed back by the order, bestowed with the rank of Jedi Master, again at an extremely young age, and been inducted into the Jedi High Council, which was unheard of for someone so young.

Jace Solo was put through hell during his years in training. Many younglings are adjusted to order and discipline through years of steadily increasing duties, responsibilities, and practices. Jace had immediately begun intensive training with Windu in order to increase his abilities.

The boy's natural void in the Force was what had tipped Windu to his potential as a Sentinel. Windu's all-night call with Yoda and following council with him on Tython led to the conclusion that the boy should be trained in secret. Windu's vision of the coming darkness was also felt by Yoda convinced the two that the Order should rebuild the sentinel branch, albeit in secret.

Yoda and Windu had stayed on Tython with Jace for several weeks, introducing him to the Force and instructing him how to access it at will. The boy had an unusually weak connection with the Force, but also an unusually strong concentration and willpower. He was capable of great feats of power with the Force, even though he was so weak that he was undetectable. Force techniques usually come down to a matter of strength and connection with the Force, something Jace clearly lacked, but he made up for it with intelligence and creativity. Jace was not limited, as many padawans are, but thinking about what is possible. His unique connection with the Force allowed him to utilize it in novel ways.

Yoda had eventually been forced to return to Coruscant, but before he left, he instructed Windu to train the boy unlike anyone else had been trained at the temple. Jace was an extremely unusual case and should be treated as such. Windu agreed, interpreting that instruction as an order to push the boy hard.

And so he had pushed. From the underwater planet of Mon Calamari, to the frozen chunk of rock that is Hoth, to the deserts of Tattooine (basically the whole planet), to the jungles of Harun Kal, to the rocky canyons of Hurikane, to the swamps of Dathomire, and abandoned wastes of Dantooine, Windu had trained Jace in the jedi arts as no one had been trained before. Jace had been pushed to study all of the lightsaber forms, successfully mastering three: Makashi, Djem So, and Windu's own Vaapad, which Windu had hesitate to teach him before realizing the boy's astonishing self-control.

Jace generally wielded two lightsabers, a purple lightsaber, a tribute to his master, and a yellow lightsaber shoto. In total, Jace held six lightsabers, collected at various points in his travels and always held on his body. He utilized all six in his self-created, eighth lightsaber form: the way of the void, though he rarely had to use it. It was much simpler to dual-wield his lightsabers.

Jace had also received extensive training in blaster rifles, something Windu had insisted on despite Jace's reluctance. Sentinels often acted as bounty hunters while undercover and knowing how to properly use a blaster was essential. Jace had learned, but considered blasters to be noisy, ineffective, and uncivilized. He preferred lightsabers or even his durasteel throwing blades, which he had forged and force-imbued himself. They were an exotic weapon and not many opponents were prepared or able to deal with them.

Jace's Force training had been handled, in addition to Windu, by several of the masters. Oppo Rancisis and Yoda were particularly adept at Force techniques and training and they took all the time away to train the boy that they could. Windu was a powerful Force user himself, but lacked sufficient depth of knowledge and experience to train Jace as fully as he felt he should be trained. Ki-Adi Mundi and Plo Koon were more than happy to train Jace in lightsaber forms and dueling, both were well accomplished warriors.

Jace had been specifically trained in one area by his master: shatterpoints. Windu and Jace were the only known being who could sense shatterpoints and Jace's ability with them far outstripped Windu's own prowess. Jace could use them as a means of determining not only weakness, but importance. If he searched for shatterpoints, as he had done with the table in Windu's earlier spaceship, he could find them in almost any object, but he could perceive premonitions about people and places as shatterpoints. They appeared to him as particularly aggravated shatterpoints and did not appear if he was specifically searching for them.

Like his master, Jace could apply shatterpoints in dynamic situations to determine weaknesses in opponents and to give himself an edge in any combat situation. The cultured ability to use shatterpoints had given Jace an extraordinary gift with foresight and combat.

Yoda and Windu had made a risky bet that the boy would develop into a true sentinel. They had denied Jace the opportunity to grow as any regular jedi would, but his case was too extreme and his purpose was too important to let tradition solely guide his path. Jace had never been to the glowing crystal caves on Ilum, he had acquired his lightsaber crystals elsewhere; he had never walked the halls of the Jedi Temple, he had trained all over the galaxy; he had never grown a padawan braid, he had donned the helmet of a bounty hunter. Their bet had been correct: Jace was an astounding sentinel.

And he had acted like a true sentinel since being knighted. Jace had immediately set out to establish a spy network across the galaxy. Having been made aware of the incoming threat long ago, Jace had tapped a system of bounty hunters as being the crux of the information in the galaxy. He had seen a shatterpoint on several and made the connection. By having passive relations with many county hunters and cantinas across the galaxy, Jace had established a network of information, but was too busy to constantly visit each informant. He had painstakingly created a communications network across several star systems by bribing key members of the planetary government into allowing him to repurpose select aspects of their transmission equipment. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to operate effectively.

Jace had ins with businessmen, politicians, and smugglers across many different star systems, but he rarely acted on information he received. His duties were primarily in the role of spying on the galaxy and searching for evidence of the dark side, which he always followed up on. He disposed of many a dark jedi or dark side user in his role as bounty hunter. That was what had happened to Janus Greetjatus, who was secretly a force-sensitive trainee who used the dark side. Who had trained Greetjatus, Jace didn't know, but would search.

The majority of information that reached Jace would be sent on to the Jedi Temple, specifically to either Yoda or Windu, who had established a secure, secret communication line with Jace. Many missions issued from the High Council originated from information that Jace had sent. Other masters on the Council suspected that there was an underground network of informants that Windu and Yoda had access to, but the two masters always denied such claims. They stated that much of the information was a result of the growing system of jedi watchmen, jedi who watched over a specific territory, that had been encouraged recently, also at the behest of Jace.

Except against the occasional dark jedi, Jace rarely entered into any combat scenarios. He preferred to operate in secret and an open battle was far too revealing for him.

Jace had relatively little access to information about the actions of the Jedi Order. Windu did his best to update him with information of important missions or jedi he was likely to encounter, as he occasionally did as a bounty hunter, but he mostly acted on an ad hoc basis. Windu only infrequently gave him specific missions as they were difficult to explain to the Council how and whom had accomplished them.

This time was different.

Exiting the bar, Jace returned to his starship. He intended to visit some other planet in the Chommell system, which famously housed the peaceful planet of Naboo. Jace knew of the blockade by the Trade Federation, it was why he was in the sector in the first place. He was visiting nearby planets to quell any adverse reactions and be on-site in case the conflict spread.

There was a blue light blinking in the cockpit – a transmission. Flipping a switch to power on the ship, Jace called for his astromech droid, P6-Q9, to initiate the communication line. A holograph appeared on the display pad, showing his former master.

"Yes, Master Windu?" Jace asked.

"Jace," Windu greeted him, "how is Chommell Minor?"

"Better now," Jace grimaced, "I have engaged and disposed of a dark-side user. He was little more than a trainee, but he was a high-level politician. I managed to get a contract for the hit," he said, referring to the slug-man, "I've wired the payment back to the temple and will keep tabs on the client. I don't think he will be notable in the future, however."

"Good to hear," Windu said, levelly. He did not always approve of killing others, it trod close to the dark side, yet Jace had never given him any reason to believe that he had fallen. "Any fallout from the death of the politician?"

"None, master," Jace replied. "It was officially ruled an accident and the investigation was closed."

Windu nodded lightly, but said nothing.

"Was there something else, master?" Jace questioned.

"Yes, you are familiar with the events on Naboo, aren't you?" Windu hardly had to see Jace nod to know that he was aware. Jace was informed of most major events in the galaxy. "The queen is returning back to Naboo to engage the Trade Federation directly."

"Her and what army?" Jace snorted, "There isn't enough strength on Naboo to take on the Trade Federation."

"I agree and advised the queen as such, but she returned against our judgment. Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi were sent with her. They had earlier retrieved her from the planet and encountered what they believed to be a Sith Lord while doing so."

Jace paused, frowning. A Sith Lord was a step up from a mere dark jedi or initiate. It implied years of training and experience, which was difficult for Jace to believe someone could have while the jedi were watching the galaxy so attentively. Even so, he knew the dark side clouded judgment and perception of events. He had to check.

Opening a star map, he hovered over the planet of Naboo: there was a small crack on the holographic map directly where Naboo was. There was a shatterpoint there. Something important was going to happen.

"You want me to go to Naboo and seek out this Sith Lord." Jace said, it wasn't a question. It was the only logical move, the rational action. Jace knew of both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Neither had the correct skills or mentality to take on a Sith Lord and emerge unharmed. Sending Jace to Naboo would ensure that, if the Sith Lord appeared, it would end there. Jedi sentinels were the ultimate match for the sith. Furthermore, this would free up the jedi to be of more use in the conflict between Naboo and the Trade Federation.

Windu nodded. Jace always understood without explanation.

"Do they know about me?" Jace questioned. He didn't think they did, but Windu might have informed them of Jace's existence.

"No, and keep it that way if possible."

Jace nodded. The connection between the Trade Federation's irrational blockade of Naboo and the appearance of the sith was too convenient to be coincidence. "Have you traced the link between the sith and the Trade Federation?"

"No, we haven't," Windu responded. "The Council has yet to be convinced that there is a sith lord in play and we haven't had time to do further research."

"I understand, master," Jace said. Once his role in this was done, he would investigate into that connection. Sith lords do not just appear. That relationship would have to be fleshed out. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes," Windu replied, "Qui-Gon has brought along a young boy, around nine years of age, from the planet Tattooine. The boy has a extraordinarily large midi-chlorian count. Qui-Gon believes the boy to be the one of prophecy, the prophecy that foretold of one who would bring balance to the Force. The Council rejected the boy for training, he is quite old, yet Qui-Gon was insistent that he would take the boy as his apprentice."

"What of Obi-Wan?"

"Obi-Wan will be doing his knighthood shortly. There is no problem with the succession."

Jace nodded, "why are you informing me of this?" This information wasn't related to his mission and would likely not come up.

"I want you to judge the boy. The Council had a limited view of his actions and abilities. Should the sith be active again, we need to, at the very least, keep watch over the boy. Perhaps he should be trained, indeed. I need your opinion, should you encounter him, on whether the boy should be trained."

"Yes, master," Jace responded. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you."

The transmission cut off.

_Naboo_

Jace was occasionally called 'void' as a nickname by his teachers. This referred to his outstanding ability to conceal himself in the Force. It was the reason he was chosen as a sentinel and one of the reasons he was so good at his work. However, his lack of presence was not only in the Force, but in real life. Jace's skill with concealment and hiding was amazing. He could conceal his person from almost anyone with ease. He was even capable of extending the range to cover his ship to evade radar detection.

The blockade was impressive. The Trade Federation had sent a large host to capture Theed. An armada was guarding entrance to the planet and surely controlling the armies of droids on the surface. As impressive as the fleet was, it was unable to detect Jace's small fighter as it streaked towards the planet surface.

Circling around the atmosphere briefly, Jace brought the craft directly towards the capital of Theed. Witnessing the surroundings of the city, Jace saw the large Gungan army approaching the city. They had brought heavy shields mounted on huge beasts in order to protect from the large cannons in the Trade Federation's army, an army that was not far away.

Despite the clear magnitude of the forthcoming battle, Jace felt no presence of the jedi or the queen. He approached Theed, figuring that the queen must be attempting to capture the viceroy of the Trade Federation. If the queen was attempting to take the viceroy, she would be accompanied by the jedi, which would attract the sith lord, if he was present on the planet.

Landing the craft outside of the city to avoid attracting attention, Jace ordered P6-Q9 to camouflage the craft and hide. The droid beeped in response and activated several defensive measures. Jace jogged into the city, which was just now breaking out into chaos.

Jace's reasoning had been correct: the queen and jedi had returned to Theed, alongside a rebel host. They had attacked several droids and tanks in the central square, where a pitched battle was now breaking out. Concealing himself, Jace watched as a detachment with the queen, two jedi, and a strangely misplaced boy attempted to gain entry into the palace.

The droid army had apparently left the access codes for the palace unchanged, and the rebel force quickly gained access to the palace. They ran into the hangar, with Jace following close behind. Inside, they immediately began firing on the present battle droids.

Even as they were skirmishing, pilots were running to the fighter ships, attempting to get them into space to engage the Trade Federation's droid command ship. Several pilots were killed in the crossfire between rebel force and droids, but most managed to make it to the ships and lift off. The small boy accompanying the jedi found refuge in one such ship and sat there, watching the fight.

In the end, the rebels took down all of the droids, but several shielded droidekas quickly rolled into the room. Sensing the panic in the small boy and trusting that this was the boy Windu had informed him of, Jace guided the boy's hand to the ignition and weapons control. Jace watched as the boy demolished the droidekas and lifted off, on autopilot, towards the action around the command ship.

Still concealed behind a pillar, Jace watched as the rebel force attempted to leave the room, but was stopped when the blast doors to the hangar opened and revealed a single figure, clad all in black. Without even trying to read the figure, Jace knew that this was a sith lord. The anger and power flowing off the man reeked of the dark side of the Force.

"We'll handle this," Qui-Gon stated to the others and stepped forward, Obi-Wan stepped up, too.

"We'll take the long way," the queen said, understanding the situation.

The two jedi shrugged off their cloaks and ignited their lightsabers with the signature _snap-hiss_. The sith also removed his cloak, revealing the red and black lines that covered his horned head – a Zabrak. He sneered at the jedi and ignited his own double-bladed lightsaber, the blade tinged ruby red.

The jedi pushed forward and engaged him, their lightsabers whirling about. The two worked together well as a team, they covered each others' weaknesses. Qui-Gon showed an impressive display of Ataru and he moved around the sith, jumping and striking in a continuous fashion and using the Force to accentuate his personal strength. The younger jedi focused on defense, using the economic motions of Soresu to guard from the overwhelming nature of a double-bladed lightsaber, and occasionally pressed the attack, too, trying to occupy the sith.

It was no use. The Zabrak was strong and powerful. He wielded his lightsaber with ferocious intent and anger. Striking left and right, he had no issue fighting two jedi and he used the double-blade to great effect.

Kicking out, the sith caught Obi-Wan off-guard and sent him flying backwards. The sith sued that time to move backward, using the force to open the doors behind him into the generator complex of the city.

Obi-Wan jumped up and ran forward to help his master. The trio moved back into the generator complex, which was composed of various catwalks and small platforms that led to various maintenance sites.

Feinting forwards, Obi-Wan pulled back as Qui-Gon jumped up and over the Zabrak. Twisting in the air, Qui-Gon struck forward, but the sith blocked easily. Obi-Wan, moving in tandem with his master, alternated with a high-low strike combo, but was surprised when his opponent swung back against him and followed up with a kick, sending the padawan down a level to a lower catwalk.

Creeping into the room, Jace saw his chance and moved forward on an adjacent catwalk.

Qui-Gon fought the sith with a series of almly calculated strikes, countering the zabrak's rage and hate with calm actions. Even so, the jedi knight was overwhelmed. As had been the case before on Tattooine, the sith outmatched him.

Qui-Gon blocked an incoming strike from the left and was immediately knocked back by the follow-up blow from the right end of the blade. Taking him by surprise, the sith hit Qui-Gon's face with the hilt of his lightsaber and swung the left end around in a circular motion. The strike was intended to cleave off Qui-Gon's head, but instead cut through his right arm, severing it at the shoulder. The arm, still clutching the lightsaber, fell down into the depths of the power generator.

Yelling, Obi-Wan was still too far out to help his master. He had only just jumped up onto the same level and was racing toward the sith, but was not going to make it.

A swishing sound through the air and a shrieking warning from the Force was all the alarm Darth Maul had before he was pierced in the back by two durasteel blades. They were not long, but were painfully protruding out of the back of his torso from between his robs. Maul howled in agony.

Turning, he saw a figure on the adjacent catwalk jump across and ignite a short yellow lightsaber. Maul attempted to raise his own blade, but he was unfocused by the pain from the knives. His own lightsaber was cleaved in half, damaging the crystal, and causing the whole blade to break. Another stroke severed the sith's head from his body. Darth Maul was dead.

Running up to the new figure, Obi-Wan held his still ignited lightsaber up, cautious of the newcomer.

"Who are you?" Obi-Wan asked.

Jace hesitated. He had not wanted to interfere around the jedi, but Qui-Gon Jinn held a shatterpoint. He was important and Jace didn't know why. In addition, revealing part of his identity to other jedi was a much better alternative in the circumstances than letting one die, as would have happened had Jace not stepped in.

Obi-Wan knew all of this, but he decided to be cautious anyway.

Jace stepped back from Qui-Gon's figure on the floor. The heat of the lightsaber had cauterized the shoulder stump, leaving the terrible smell of burnt flesh, but saving the jedi knight from blood loss. Qui-Gon was conscious and following the situation closely, although he was considerably weakened and defenseless following the loss of his arm. His fight with the sith had been taxing.

Jace shut off his lightsaber, but its yellow color, a reference to the sentinel branch of the Jedi Order was not missed by Qui-Gon.

"I'm nobody," Jace replied. "Nobody important right now, at least."

Obi-Wan blinked, not expecting that answer.

"The most important thing for you both to understand right now is that I was never here. I never interfered in your battle, I never came to this planet, you don't know me. Got that?"

Obi-Wan said nothing; Qui-Gon understood and nodded, Obi-Wan looked down at his master, trusting his judgment, but he would demand an explanation later.

"Here's what happened: you two accompanied the queen and encountered the sith like you did. You both engaged him. Qui-Gon, you lost your arm in the battle and were no longer an active participant. Obi-Wan, you defeated the sith in combat and killed him only as a defensive measure to protect your master."

Qui-Gon nodded again; Obi-Wan looked more confused than ever. This stranger had just taken down a sith and was now demanding that another jedi take credit for the seemingly heroic act.

The stranger continued: "You will tell this story to the Jedi High Council and immediately request a private audience with Jedi Masters Yoda and Windu. You will tell them the real story of events, mentioning that you encountered the void. Any further action you take will be as a result of discussing this with them."

Qui-Gon frowned at this, but nodded.

"Please check his wound," Jace said, gesturing for Obi-Wan to examine Qui-Gon's arm. "He needs medical attention."

Obi-Wan hesitated to move towards his master, but Jace was already leaving, hurrying to leave the planet as quickly as possible.

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon's voice cut sharply, "he is no threat to us or our mission. Come! Patch up my arm."

Jace sprinted out of the city, which was still in chaos. The droids had recently been decommissioned, following the explosion around the control ship in orbit around Naboo. Jace had a feeling he knew who had destroyed the ship.

Arriving back where he had left his cruiser, he found the ship in the same shape it had been before he had left for the city. Announcing his presence to P6-Q9, he entered the ship and blasted off from the plant. He had two important shatterpoints to report to back to master Windu.


End file.
